Bios

Saya Callner

Conductor Saya Callner enjoys making music in various styles and occasions in the New York City area. Her specialities are far ranging, from orchestra and chorus to opera. A native of Japan, Ms. Callner first came to the U.S. to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She later relocated to New York City where she received Master of Music in Choral Conducting and Music Theory at Mannes, after which she went on to a Master’s in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Michigan. Currently Ms. Callner is in the DMA program in Orchestral Conducting with Kynan Johns at Rutgers University.

Ms. Callner is the Founder (2007) and Director of New York’s Chromatic Voice Exchange, a unique chorus made up of music theorists, composers, and instrumentalists. Dedicated to working with living composers, Ms. Callner has premiered more than 30 new compositions with her chorus. Ms. Callner’s repertoire is not, however, limited to new compositions. With the Chromatic Voice Exchange, she has performed large choral-orchestral repertoire such as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsodie, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, as well as premiering an opera in one act, “A Night of Pity” by Robert Cuckson, with fully staged cast at the Mannes College of Music.

Ms. Callner is thrilled to be part of Music at The Park as Co-Music Director. Ms. Callner is also the Director of the Music Ministry at The Park Avenue Christian Church, Conductor of the New York Mixed Chorus and the Chorus Schola Sine Nomine. A dedicated teacher, she has taught piano, musicianship, music theory, and conducting, from young children to college students in such institutions as the Bronx Bethany After-School Enrichment Program, Midori and Friends, the Mannes College Pre-College Division, the Rutgers College Division, and more.

Shawn Chang

With a career as both pianist and composer, Shawn Chang has created an international career of distinction. Since his solo piano debut at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Shawn Chang has performed extensively throughout North America and Asia. As a collaborative pianist, he has worked with the Bronx Opera, the Garden State Opera, and with singers Yumi Tomsha and David Serero, amongst many others. His own compositions encompass piano solos, vocal music, and chamber music. Mr. Chang’s recent piano arrangement of the Dutch folk song, “tulpen uit Amsterdam,” was premiered by pianist Ying Feng and received critical acclaim at the Prinsjesdag Concert in Hague. Original compositions by Mr. Chang have been premiered by the Chromatic Voice Exchange Chorus, the Novello String ensemble, the aTonal Hits Duo, and solo artists Paolo Maliksi, Jamie Jordan, and Edward Prevost, to name a few. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Shawn Chang currently lives in New York City. He holds Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory and a Professional Studies degree from the Mannes College of Music.